Introduction
The Master of Science in Data Science degree program is designed to prepare students to use the latest computational and analytic tools to solve data intensive problems that arise in business, industry or government. The goal is to provide the students with the knowledge and skills of data collection, pre-processing, analysis, visualization and ethical implication associated with large heterogeneous data arising within the various domain areas.
All the core courses within the degree program are project-based allowing for hands-on experience culminating in a final capstone project or an internship in the student’s chosen domain area. The program offers the flexibility for the students to choose one of the five tracks (Aerospace Engineering, Aviation Safety, Aviation Business, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Big Data, and Homeland Security) to specialize in, depending on their interest. The students have to choose the track by the start of the second semester into the program.
Admissions Criteria
Degree Requirements
The curriculum consists of 15 credits of required coursework, with an additional 3 credits of track-specific required course and 12 credits of electives and/or thesis research.
The core courses provide the foundation of the Data Science principles and require an undergraduate degree in a technical field (a degree with at least four semesters of college-level Math) for preparation. Students with a non-technical undergraduate degree will be required to complete additional modules
CS 540 | Database and Information Retrieval | 3 |
DS 540 | Data Mining | 3 |
DS 544 | Data Visualization | 3 |
DS 615 | Data Modeling | 3 |
MA 506 | Probability and Statistical Inference | 3 |
Total Credits | 15 |
Aerospace Engineering Track
AE 514 | Introduction to the Finite Element Method | 3 |
AE 516 | Computational Aeronautical Fluid Dynamics | 3 |
AE 523 | Linear Systems | 3 |
| 3 |
| |
| Numerical Methods for Engineers and Scientists | |
| Numerical Linear Algebra for Engineers | |
Total Credits | 12 |
Aviation Business Track
| Accounting for Decision Making | |
| Operations Research | |
| Advanced Aviation Economics | |
| Airline Optimization and Simulation Systems | |
| Data Analytics for Aviation Business | |
| Airport Operations and Management | |
| Managerial Finance | |
| International Aviation Finance | |
| Aircraft Funding Legal and Financial Analysis | |
Total Credits | 12 |
Aviation Safety Track
| Applications in Crew Resource Management | |
| Human Factors in the Aviation/Aerospace Industry | |
| Aviation/Aerospace System Safety | |
| Aviation/Aerospace Safety Program Management | |
| Data Analytics for Aviation Safety | |
Total Credits | 12 |
Cybersecurity Track
| Current Topics in Cybersecurity | |
| System Exploitation and Penetration Testing | |
| Multi-Agent Systems | |
| Computer Security | |
| Software Security Assessment | |
| Applied Cryptography | |
| Big Data Analytics for Cybersecurity | |
| Data Compression for Image and Signal Processing | |
Total Credits | 12 |
High Performance Computing & Big Data Track
| Data Compression for Image and Signal Processing | |
| Fundamentals of Optimization | |
| High Performance Scientific Computing | |
| Statistical Quality Analysis | |
| Complex Networks and Applications | |
Total Credits | 12 |
Homeland Security Track
| Data Analytics for Counterterrorism | |
| Introduction to Human Security | |
| The Internet, Security, and Governance | |
| International Law and U.S. Security Policy | |
| Principles of International Conflict Resolution | |
| Environmental Security | |
| Foundations of Resilience | |
Total Credits | 12 |
Human Factors Track
| Ergonomics | |
| Human Factors in Systems | |
| Sensation and Perception | |
| Memory and Cognition | |
| User Experience | |
| Human-Computer Interaction | |
Total Credits | 12 |
| Data Science Capstone Project | |
| |
* | |
Total Credits | 3 |
Suggested Plan of Study
Year One |
---|
| Credits |
---|
MA 506 | Probability and Statistical Inference | 3 |
CS 540 | Database and Information Retrieval | 3 |
DS 540 | Data Mining | 3 |
DS 544 | Data Visualization | 3 |
| Specified Electives | 6 |
| Credits Subtotal | 18.0 |
Year Two |
---|
DS 615 | Data Modeling | 3 |
MA 680 | Data Science Capstone Project | 3 |
| Specified Electives | 6 |
| Credits Subtotal | 12.0 |
| Credits Total: | 30.0 |